SETTLED.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 59, 10 March 1921, Page 5

SETTLED.

! WATERSIDE DEADLOCK. WORK RESUMED TO-DAY TERMS OF AGREEMENT. ;' WIDE FIELD COVERED. , j (T.y Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") 1 ; WELLINGTON. Thursday. ' i After lengthy negotiations it was an- ' j nounced by tlie Prime Minister this ' ; evening that the waterfront dispute had j been settled. Mr. Massey conferred with , j the parties to-day, and in announcing j the settlement said: — 'A "I presided at a conference of the | i parties interested in the present dispute, and following the conference an agreement has been arrived at, which is satisfactory to the representatives of the shipowners and the representatives of the WV.ierr-ide Workers' Federation. Detail- of the agreement will be announced shortly. Work will be resumed on the waterfront to-morrow." When the details of the settlement are publi-hed it will be found to rover a much larger field than the guaran- ' tee= originally required by the employers. (Questions were raised by the watersidT" regarding the working . conditions of a somewhat technical f nature, and in regard to overtime it->elf, I it was mutually agreed that if domestic ■ or pergonal circumstances warrant a man I ' declining to work overtime no objection i will be taken to his abstention, i ' There is a feeling of great relief in , : commercial circles over the resumption ~of work, as it means a good deal to i j cheese producers in particular to get , ' early dispatch for their product before Canadian competition begins. A leading ! shipping man estimates the weekly loss . through idle tonnage at £100,1100. . ' Tii" full terms of the settlement have . been withheld for the present by agreef ment between the parties. No public . announcement will be made until the , Waterside Workers' Federation has I placed the terms of settlement before I the various water-id.' unions. I The ending oj the dispute is attributed j by both T>artio- to the personal efforts of j the Prime Minister, who became associated with the negotiations after some- ' thing like a. deadlock had been I reached. The accumulation of -hipping and cargo at Wellington and other ports , will make h >avy demands upon th • ■• waterside unions during the next we.»K - or so, and a large amount of overtime i will require to be worked. The shipping . companies will be desirous of getting the ? large ~h':ps in hand again as quickly as j po-sible, but probably ii will be fount | "mi.n-- : h'e to work all these vessels imt mediately. The Wellington Waterside i I'nion. whirh contains about 1200 men. j:- expected to be fully employed at once. J and there will be no surplus labour for some time.